US credit card payment volumes decreased by 7% in March 2020 compared with March 2019, Visa has reported, while cross-border transaction volumes have fallen 19%... More
Banks in Qatar are raising the contactless transaction limit from 100 riyals (US$27.46) to 300 riyals (US$82.39), in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19... More
The European Banking Authority has issued a statement urging the European payments industry to increase contactless transaction limits to €50 (US$54.97)... More
Countries around the world are increasing the contactless transaction limit in a bid to combat the spread of Covid-19... More
Mastercard is now working with 29 countries across Europe and central Asia to implement increases to their contactless payment transaction limit, the payments network says... More
The spending limit for contactless card payments in the UK is being increased from £30 (US$35.33) to £45 (US$52.99), UK Finance has announced. The new spending limit will begin to roll out from 1 April 2020. More
“Coronavirus concerns have pushed consumers across Germany to make the switch to using contactless payments for the first time,” The Local.de reports... More
The Chengyang District of the city of Qingdao has become the first in China to use a new WeChat service to issue government vouchers directly to residents’ mobile phones, in a bid to boost consumer spending as the Chinese economy begins to recover from Covid-19... More
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has introduced a series of measures designed to reduce the need for citizens to use cash to make payments, including a doubling of the contactless payment transaction limit and free access to both prepaid card and mobile wallet services... More
LibertyBus, the public bus service operator for the island of Jersey, has stopped accepting cash payments for tickets.... More
Metlink, the transportation agency for the Greater Wellington region of New Zealand, has ceased accepting cash payments on all buses, trains, ferries and stations “to stay one step ahead of Covid-19 and give our passengers and staff more peace of mind”... More
Norway is increasing the transaction limit for BankAxept domestic contactless debit card payments from 400 kr (US$34.28) to 500 kr (US$42.84) “in order to minimise the number of physical touch points where infection can be transmitted”... More
Contactless transaction limits are to more than double from 120 Turkish lira (US$18.29) to 250 lira ($38.11), Soner Canko, chair of the Turkish Interbank Card Center (BKM) has announced... More
The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has issued a statement strongly encouraging banking customers “to take advantage of digital and online banking services as a measure to protect the health and safety for UAE residents.”... More
Poland has doubled the country’s contactless card transaction limit from 50 zloty (US$11.85) to 100 zloty ($23.71)... More
Canadian financial services group Desjardins has increased the contactless transaction limit from C$100 (US$69.72) to C$250 ($174.31) “on Desjardins terminals for Desjardins credit cardholders.”... More
“Whenever possible, use cashless payments, contactless and mobile payments,” Georgia’s central bank has urged the country’s citizens... More
ANZ is to provide free contactless debit transactions “for eligible small business customers” in New Zealand until 30 June, the bank has announced... More
Banks in Ireland have agreed to increase the contactless transaction limit from €30 (US$32.17) to €50 (US$53.54) “to minimise the handling of cash amid Covid-19”, The Irish Times reports... More
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) has increased the purchase limit for Atheer contactless domestic debit card transactions from SAR 100 (US$26.61) to SAR 300 (US$79.84), in a bid to reduce the spread of novel coronavirus... More
